Where The Light Is
by MissMontgomery
Summary: Being the surgeon at fault after a critical slip in the OR,OB-GYN fellow Addison Montgomery, and, Mrs. Doctor Noah Barnes to-be, flees from LA to Seattle for a temporary spot in Richard Webber's hospital. On her very first day at work she is forced to face up to Derek Shepherd, Seattle Grace's self-important neurosurgery head. The two take an instant dislike on one another.
1. A City Of Angels

**Hey guys! And welcome to my brand new fic! It's going to be entirely Addek although it's not exactly going to be love at first sight…And there are two people in the way. One is Noah. The other, Sydney. As in Heron. You might think 'why the hell is she bringing Sydney into this?'****  
****It's fairly simple, really. One, she's perky and cute, even though she's annoying. You can't possibly hate her. Two, I was looking for a good-enough woman for Derek and I always felt that certain guest characters such as Sydney and Rose were always a lot more realistic than MerDer. Can't explain it, they just seemed more like him.**

**Oh! And a slight warning, if you're sensitive to perky people. I'm bringing Daisy Pepman into this. As Mark's girlfriend. Am I crazy?****  
**** Can't quite recall her face? Not strange, at all. She was Izzie's dermatologist during season 5 before she disappeared. She's not going to be a central character or anything, I just felt the urge to put her in. I love her, she's beyond friendly and cute. And how cool is her name? Daisy Pepman...Daisy Pepman...Daisy Pepman. It sounds so great, I could say it all day. I won't make her pathologically perky though. I'm keeping her at a reasonable level.**

**Besides her, there are going to be several familiar faces joining in, but this story is Addek centered and will focus solely on them and their progress.****  
****This very first chapter is more of an introduction to everything before Addie heads up north. You get a peek at her life and situation in LA and well as Derek's in Seattle. **

**The story title is taken from the John Mayer song "Gravity". His music means a lot to me. **

**Is that enough talk? I guess. Without further ado, I wish you a happy reading. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_Three weeks prior_

"You're not being serious" Noah Barnes, cardiologist and one of Cedars Sinai's finest, swallowed hard and put his glass of Bordeaux down with some force. He sent his fiancée an appalled look. The redhead paced the floor in front of him, humble excitement written on her face. She threw her slingbacks aside and handed over a folded piece of paper.

"A contract. An _employment_ contract. Signed Richard Webber" He caught notice of a careless stain at the bottom of it, "There's coffee on it. There's coffee on your Richard Webber contract!"

Confidently, she exited the kitchen, returning with a second bottle in her hand. "I'm sure he won't mind. You know the chief loves me"

Although it felt like ages since she had completed her internship at Columbia and transferred to the west coast to jump straight into residency, she had a hard time letting the thought of Webber not being her mentor any longer, go. He'd made such impact on her, emotionally as well as professionally.

"And now you want to work in his hospital"

"Noah, I need a change" Her voice softened as she joined him at their plush, high-end couch.

He wrapped an arm around her satiny waist. His grey eyes grew serious as they looked right at her face. "Addison. It wasn't your fault…"

"I was the only senior surgeon in that OR-"

"Senior surgeon? You haven't completed your fellowship yet! Where the hell was the attending? What's his face, Bloomburg? Held up at the golf court?"

"It was my surgery" Absentmindedly, she poured herself a glass, "and I was the one doing the decision-making…"

He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around a little so they could face each other. "Baby A was extremely preterm, he wouldn't have made it-"

"Damian. It's Damian. It's not baby A" She was angry at him for addressing her beautiful, minuscule patients in such an incautious manner but she couldn't possibly start another fight with him right now. He was a good guy, deep down, he was…

"Right…And..uhm… Lyla-"

"Lillith!"

"I'm sorry Addison, but you can't expect me to recall the name of every patient lost. And that doesn't make me indifferent."

She forced back a persistent tear. For weeks, she had been going on about that fault, and the fatal outcome, how the boards had recklessly tackled her…investigated the entire unit, and pretty much libeled her name and reputation for the entire hospital to see. She knew that it really wasn't quite that bad but on days like these…that's what it felt like.

And she knew Noah wasn't an indifferent person. He cared, really. But he had an entire unit to tend to on his own. Three weeks ago, he was named the new Cardiology head. Of course it'd put an extra strain to their relationship. They were a good match. He was the right guy for her. But on days like these…it didn't feel that way.

"So…" She switched gears, "Richard's offered me an eight month long temp spot in Seattle Grace's neonatal ward. It's the state of the art, top-ranked care unit in the northwestern. That way, I can complete my fellowship up there, come back and apply for my attending position at CSMS."

"Seattle? Addie, get real. And what the hell's Webber doing up there anyway?"

"Chief of surgery"

"In Seattle" He uttered the words profoundly perplexed.

"What's wrong with Seattle?"

"What's not wrong?" He grabbed her by the arm once she made a departing move, fearing she would jump right on a plane to the emerald city, stat. "Hey…" He got her back next to him and locked his gaze with hers, "you belong here, with me. You did a mistake. You lost two patients. Running away won't help you out, at all."

"I'm not running away"

"Bizzy killed herself" Brutally, he nudged her memory. Three months ago she'd come to visit her daughter and future son in-law. At least, that was the official excuse to why she'd left Connecticut and her husband for several weeks. Truth be told, the real reason causing secret lesbian Bizzy Montgomery to drop by LA for a while was her dying lover. She sat by her bedside every day, until severely sick Susan took her last, dying breath. And then Bizzy couldn't take it any longer. Addison was the one who found her lifeless on her bed, the pill container empty on her nightstand. Cardiac arrest, they'd told her father. But Noah, the cardiologist, knew it was far from the truth. In loyalty to his fiancée, he'd promised to stick with her lie and not tell anybody. Bizzy would've wanted it that way.

"She didn't want to live. Without Susan…" Addison's emotional wounds were still wide open, he knew. "And you're broken. You haven't healed yet. You want to escape death. But you can't."

"I'm fine"

"Bullshit"

"Okay, maybe I'm not. Maybe I need to get away for a while"

"For what?" He brushed her cheek and put the heavily poured glass in her hands, "Hun, you're being ridiculous. We're going to get married. You and I. Build a life together, start a family, make you the most brilliant board certified specialist LA's ever seen…"

"It can wait, can't it?" She requested meekly.

"What?"

"The wedding…It can wait another year or so…?"

"Jesus, Addie!" He was already stressing out, "it's been five months already! And we already booked Mrs. DeHavens services!"

"There are other wedding planners, you know…" She hinted carefully. He fell back against the pillows dejectedly. He studied his potential wife's beautiful features suspiciously.

"You know I'm starting to think that you don't want this…"

"No, I do! Noah, I really do! But I want _you_. You are the more important thing to me, not the wedding. I'd marry you in a Vegas chapel with a fake Elvis by our side, if that's what you wanted."

"God…"He ached at the vulgar thought. People thought of Addison Montgomery as stuck up and traditional but he was in fact twice the sophisticated and conservative man.

"You're not leaving for Seattle"

"I have to. I want to"

"What about us!"

"Things have been pretty tense between us lately, you know that…Maybe it's good. To spend some time apart. Before the wedding, I mean. And you just got promoted. I'd be good for you to get rid of me for a little while"

"A little while?!" He quoted her, hassled. "It's eight months we're talking about!"

She snuggled up close to him, her voice gentling as she nudged his neck with the tip of her nose. "…and I'd come home every other weekend…"

"You say that now" He wasn't over-the-moon about the idea, "Though you're Webber's star, I'm sure your attending's gonna throw extra shifts at you."

"Okay, fine" She knew the surgical game all too well by now, "every third weekend…and a spontaneous visit every now and then…"

"Honey, you know very well I don't like a surprise" He made sure to straighten out the little wrinkle she'd caused to the sleeve of his shirt while rubbing against him lovingly. _Such a nitpicker_, Addison thought to herself. But she could live with that. She loved him. And when you loved someone you looked past their faults and flaws or any callous traits.

…"But you like me…" She hinted hotly, "and I come with surprises. Deal with it"

He let out a cautious laugh.

At the next second his BlackBerry let out an alerting beep. Quickly, he grabbed it. He clicked open a message.

"Who's it from?" She cuddled closer. "It's not the hospital is it?"

"It is"

"Nothing important?"

"It's quite important"

"But you've been drinking-"

"It's not surgery" Hurriedly, he put his coat on, "it's a…consult. Don't wait up for me."

"Noah…"

"See you in the morning" He blew her an absentminded kiss while searching for his car keys. He found them, he grabbed them and then, he was out, leaving Addison to see the door shut in front of her.

* * *

"There she is!" Daisy Pepman greeted the group of five who were all present around the hospital lunching table. She balanced a large plastic cake tray on her hands. "The birthday girl!" She pulled the lid off, revealing a massive fudgy chocolate layer cake before throwing her arms around Callie Torres. "Happy birthday!"

"Don't" The orthopedic growled back, ready to dig into the chocolaty deliciousness. "Can't believe I'm 32 already"

"How does it feel?" The chatty resident beamed back, "completely awesome? I wouldn't know. I'm only thirty so…"

"Yeah" A shorter, stodgier doctor spoke up now, "rub it in her face, bright girl, just like that"

"So" The athletic built surgeon next to her pulled out a chair and Daisy fell down in it, "I hear a second congratulations are in order as well. Chief resident! That's major!"

"Who said that?" Callie responded humbly, "The chief haven't decided yet."

"Come on, you're the best candidate" Mark Sloan pressed a kissed to Daisy's temple before he went on, "it's pretty much settled. Celebrate a little" He struck his coffee cup against hers, "for the birthday girl. And Seattle Grace's next chief resident"

"-Birthday girl. And Seattle Grace's next chief resident" The group echoed in a cheer.

Callie couldn't help but smile at her supportive gang of friends. She gave the general fellow who was two seats away from her an attentive look, "Sydney, you're a nominee-"

"I was" The man next to the cheery brunette threw an arm around her shoulders and she chuckled back at him. "Until Derek came sweeping me off my feet, making me all love-struck and distracted. I left my talent somewhere in this hospital and I can't seem to find it."

"You'd be a good chief resident" The dreamy neurosurgeon flirted back at her, "a _really_ good chief resident…"

"To you, maybe. Too bad the job requires a whole lot more than answering to your sexy calls all the time"

Derek couldn't control his smudge grin. Sydney blushed as she took a very first piece of Daisy's homemade gateaux.

"Oh my god…" She moaned in delight, "This thing is amazing!"

"Isn't it?" She younger resident beamed back at her, "Made it last night"

"How's that even possible?" Mark butted in, "you screwed me last night"

"_After_ you fell asleep. Around four. I was too restless. Couldn't get much sleeping done. So I made a cake. In honor of our brilliant chief res to be"

"I'm starting to believe you guys" Callie said, "I mean, who else besides Sydney and myself was ever an actual candidate?"

"Webber's star" One of Miranda's previous interns, now making it as a junior resident, welcomed himself to their table. He tore up his sandwich in a greedy manner. Miranda sent him a disapproving look.

"Karev. Who told you to sit?"

"You haven't heard?" He gave her the brush-off. "The framed chick on his desk? His all-time favorite. Former student of his. Screwed up in LA, now's he's taken her back under his wing and saved her a spot at neonatal"

"The drop-dead redhead?" Mark recalled vaguely, "Monroe, isn't it?"

"Montgomery"

"Webber's star?" Callie's jaw tensed defensively, "I'm Webber's star"

"Relax, Torres. I'm sure she's got nothing on you"

"He promised one of you chief resident" Derek joined in, "he can't possibly go ahead and bring us a lightweight from outside Seattle"

"She's hardly a lightweight" Alex Karev munched on a stolen slice of cake, "she went to Yale and Columbia. Married the cardio head at Cedars Sinai. Her father runs some high-end private clinic on the east coast"

"How come you know all this?"

"Ever heard of Google?"

"You have nothing to worry about, Callie" Daisy spoke up again, "If I were her I'd lie as low as I could. You've been here for six years already. She's a newbie."

"-said the dermatologist who's not actually a surgeon" Miranda jeered. Mark brought a protective arm around his girlfriend. "Hey. There will be no mocking my girlfriend. She and I create magic together. We make skin look prettier"

"Right" Derek grimaced, "while the rest of us are wandering the hallways, enjoying our coffee and maybe only occasionally we battle life threatening brain tumors and spinal deformities."

"Daisy's right though" Sydney said, "You wouldn't battle Callie. She breaks bones for a living"

Mark slapped Torres' back supportively. "You'll kick LA's ass"

"You show her who's the real deal around here"

"Yeah. You show her."

"You're Callie."

"Yeah"

The pretty group agreed in unison.

* * *

"Thank you guys, so much, for coming!" Callie hovered at her apartment door, drunkenly parting with her friends. A great group of random people hugged, kissed and slapped her goodbye before they cascaded down the stairs behind a horny looking Mark Sloan and his giggly girlfriend.

"You made this old, dried up hag feel a little bit better."

"You're no hag" Derek kissed her cheek, "you're beautiful, and talented and, on top of your game."

"Judging by the looks of Doctor Karev, chances are you'll be on top of him tonight as well" Sydney quipped tipsily. The two eyed her incredulously. Sassy remarks were not the first thing you'd come to associate with Sydney Heron but in a lightly drunken state, she was able to pull it through.

"I'm so doing him" Callie flashed her white set of teeth while casting a cheeky smile at them.

"Enjoy" The general surgeon embraced her tightly, "We had a great time" She slipped her arms into her coat Derek was holding out for her. "See you at work"

They waved at her as they descended the crowded stairs. Entering the crisp late night air they spotted Mark and Daisy stumbling into a cab.

"You guys wanna ride with us?" Daisy poked her head out, "Come!"

"Should we?"

"You go, I'll walk" Sydney suggested," I live only a few blocks from here"

"No way" He refused, as he was the real gentleman, "I'll walk with you"

Half an hour later they arrived at her apartment door. She paused for a minute until he broke the abrupt silence.

"So…Do I come in?" He snuck in closer. He sniffed her hair. Savored the distinct scent of alcohol and her signature fragrance. She turned around, the thin layer of satin greeting his eyes. She was wearing a low neck top. There was a lot of cleavage. Good cleavage. Nothing about her reminded him of the general surgeon he'd gotten so used to see around. The bright, somewhat childish practitioner who carried colorful pins on her scrubs and wore an excessive smile to work every day.

"Do you want to come in?"

"I do…"

"Derek, are you sleeping with someone else?"

He was caught off guard. But he gave her the honest reply. "I…No, I don't. I'm not sleeping with anyone but you"

"I have no business asking you this have I? I know we're not exclusive-"

"Sydney, if you're not into this anymore…"

"I am" She insisted, "That's the problem. I'm so into this it's not healthy. I'm too invested, and you're not. I want commitment" She eyed his shoes, "and you…it seems you don't…"

"We talked about this" He bore his hands into his front pockets, "You're wrong. I do. I do want a committed relationship. I don't want to walk around as the 38 year old bachelor any longer. But…maybe I'm not ready yet."

"Are you ever gonna be ready?"

He swallowed. Although he'd guzzled liters of beers tonight his throat felt too dry. Sydney's last words brought him three months back in time to when he'd visited his family in New York. His mother had asked him the exact same thing. Was he ever going to be ready to settle?

His longest, also happening to be his most previous relationship, had lasted for no more than six months. With Rose. A scrub nurse on his floor. Carolyn could stand her, he knew that. But she wasn't _it_. She wasn't _the one_ for him. She'd urged him to go look for a good woman. A stable one, five to six years his junior, no younger than that. A woman with a decent job and with the right values in life. Who didn't carry around too much makeup, who wanted to tie the knot and carry his future children.

Shouldn't be too hard to find, Carolyn had told him, not for a man like him.

So, with his mother's most recent words in mind, he'd asked Sydney out. They went on several dates, to the movies, to dinner and to his place. Where clothes were thrown off shamelessly, proving no progress date-wise. She liked that. But still, she wanted him to bring along a lot more to their table.

"I…Yes. I think, I really think that…" He brought himself closer to her, "you could be the one for me…"

"I am a hell of a woman, Derek"

"I know you are…" He looked past her, hinting cheekily. "So…shall we?"

She lingered by the open door. "You know, I think not. I need to…wrap my head around a couple things" Though he tried to hide it she could tell by his expression he was disappointed. Derek Shepherd had been patiently waited all night, only to be rejected in the end.

"We're still…you know…not together-together but…together?"

"Yeah" She brought a kiss to his cheek, "I'll see you on Monday. Give you a booty call whenever I'm free"

"Good" He whispered at her lips, "so I'll…see you on Monday…then."

"Monday" She promised him as he left.

* * *

"So, Nae…" Noah snuck up beside them, to where Addison and Naomi where at. He'd thrown her a "so long" party at their beach house, bringing in their closest friends and co-workers.

"…What are you and I going to do when Addison's out of town?" He poured their almost empty glasses full, "any suggestions?"

Addison nudged him playfully. "What he's trying to say is 'please, please, invite me over to your place so I can eat off your table.' Noah doesn't cook"

"I cook" He disagreed, "The microwave and I get along perfectly"

"Exactly" She grimaced joyously.

Naomi snickered as she took another sip of her Veuve Clicquot. "Addie, I promise, I'm going to take great care of the helpless man."

"But not too much" She held a finger up at her best friend.

"I am married you know" She rolled her eyes before her face fell serious. "Are you sure you wanna do this? I mean, Seattle…that's not you. Wouldn't you rather want to work at your father's practice or something? That way you'd get away from here, but you'd be home, at least. You don't know anyone up **there**."

"I know Richard. And Adele. And if they happen to get too protective and parent-like I'd invite Camille to go shopping with me"

"Are there any decent stores up there?" Noah wedged an eyebrow.

"You're talking about Seattle like it's undiscovered land or something. Hey, maybe I'll even find the perfect wedding dress up there"

"Now we're talking" He kissed her lips, "I'm glad to see you back on the wedding track"

"What?" Naomi alerted, "Are you-"

"Addison's been having cold feet lately" He replied before she could say a word. "But she's all good now"

"No, I haven't! It's all just…happening so soon. I'm going to marry you. And that's one of the reasons why I'm going out of town for a while. To see that being by myself is no fun anymore. So when I get back I'll appreciate what we have even more"

He brought her in closer and placed a possessive hand around her waist. "The guys up there better not be attractive"

"Honey…The guys up there…Got nothing on you…"

* * *

**Yeah, Addison's shouldn't expect too much of a warm welcome…**

**So Noah is kind of stuck-up. I really liked him in PP though, I think he and Addie could have made a good couple if they had met under better circumstances and he didn't have to make all the wrong calls. I feel like I should be sorry for making him kind of an unsympathetic guy here. **

**I feel like I should explain the whole Derek/Sydney thing a lot more as well. He's a grown up and single. Never been married, he's been in and out of a few unsuccessful relationships. And now he wants to find real love. And Sydney is the good, safe woman. So right now he's thinking that he should be able to fall in love with her because he can't possibly go wrong with her. You know, she's the cosy, safe, loving kind that would never go crazy or cheat on him or anything. **

**Only problem is…He's just not **_**that**_** into her, relationship-wise. **

**Addison and Derek will actually meet three times in the next chapter, although they won't know at first that it's Addison and Derek. So, major shock to come ;)**

**I think you guys know by now where I'm going to take this story but we're only at the first chapter yet so if anything's unclear or you have any questions of any sort feel free to PM me. **

**I really don't want to beg, I hate to beg, but please, please leave me a review. I've completely forgotten how nerve wracking it is to publish the very first chapter of a brand new story. Reviews make the writing process a lot easier and, I can only speak for myself, but they are precious and crucial when it comes to motivation. I really hope I get to see some of you "old" and loyal readers of my other stories as well! :D**

**I should be able to post the second chapter next week. It's almost ready so… : )**


	2. A Nice(?) Girl From Somewhere Else

**Hi guys!**

** Thank you so much for the wonderful response I got on the very first one! Here is chapter 2 for you. I hope you enjoy this, in which Addison is on a mini roadtrip to Seattle. And then there's the Addek encounter waiting below. I hope it's kinda cute, in this twisted, grumpy way. **

* * *

_Don't be scared to walk alone_

_ Don't be scared to like it_

**John Mayer- 'Age of Worry'**

* * *

"Well hello there, city of San Francisco"

Addison sped down as she directed her car into the corner of a poorly lit parking lot. She'd just passed the city border sign and she figured that now that she was hours away from Noah, she could throw away her uncomfortable pair of Jimmy Choo's for her favorite pair of sneakers. She liked her pretty shoes and her fiancé practically worshipped her in them but handling high heels while managing a car down the highway proved to be a bit of a challenge for the solid surgeon. It wasn't that he would be mad if he knew or anything, but truth be told, Noah was a conservative guy born into a family of successful doctor men and fabulous stay-at-home wives.

He didn't force her into anything, he'd even given into some of Addison's stubborn schemes. He didn't love the thought of her ambitious career plan that would keep her at work a lot more than at home. And he certainly didn't love the thought of having her stuck in Seattle for the next eight months.

They had a healthy give-and-take relationship and she was grateful for it. Quickly, she exchanged her shoes and tossed the pricey, unfavoured pair to the backseat of her car. He clearly preferred to see women dress genteely and feminine. He used to say it reminded him of his mother, the fondest woman he knew. Addison couldn't quite agree to it. She mirrored her own mother, Bizzy. And she was a lot of things. But fond? Not so much.

Her feet were grateful to hit the cushiony insides of her sneakers. So he hadn't forced her into anything. But she'd given into his secret demands anyway. He hated seeing her in them outside the OR. And the gym. Not that they got a hell lot of exercise done, carrying around busy schedules.

He could stand ballerina flats, to a certain point. But he was clearly at his happiest and his perkiest when he had his fiancée squeezed into a skintight dress and uncomfortable shoes.

Speaking of skintight…

Oh, what the heck. Not debating it any further she squirmed out of her achingly tight pants. Only wearing a shirt and pair of lacy panties she realized her clothes were packed up in the back of her car. She could crawl the very short and much uncomfortable distance or she had to get out and around her car…

She shot the parking lot a look. It appeared to be pretty empty. She hurried out to unlock the trunk door and plunged through suitcases and bags until she found her dearie pair of jeans. Two men passed her before she got the chance to pull them on. One of them sent her an appalled look while the other, slightly younger one, offered her a sassy grin. Addison squealed as she hurried back to the front seat, humiliated but slightly amused at the same time.

She hadn't exited the Cali state border yet and she was already going crazy...

* * *

Addison turned down the vintage Nirvana song that was playing on the radio once seeing her phone vibrate in the empty seat next to her. She could tell from the lighted screen it was Richard. She put her phone to her ear while she continued down the road. It wasn't an ideal thing but she was used to being caught up on the phone while being in the middle of the bustling LA traffic. Up here it was quieter.

"Hey" She greeted him casually, "how's everything?"

"_Addie! I don't mean to stress you out but where are you?"_

"Don't expect me to be there yet. I had a sleepover in Sonoma. Figured I'd treat myself to some good Roussanne" Truth was, she'd made a stop to pick up some exclusive vintage Californian wine for Adele and him.

"I've been on the road for a quite a while already, should be in Oregon any minute now"

"_You know, I expected you to go by plane. I was supposed to pick you up at Sea-Tac"_

"Yeah, well…I always wanted to go on a mini roadtrip. And now was a good time"

"_I just wanted to let you know that your apartment is ready, I got the keys. So drop by us once you're here. You're more or less in Oregon? So we expect you around nine. Adele's cooking your favorite"_

"Aww" She had to smile, "she's too sweet. I'll be there"

"_I'm really looking forward to see you again"_ Although she couldn't see his face she understood by his voice he was going emotional. "_It's going to be a pleasure to have you work at my hospital"_

"Hey" She warned him mockingly, _"_put your feelings aside till I get there_."_

"_Will try. You got the address?"_

"Right here."

"_Good. Let me know when you're near"_

"Will do"

They hung up and she turned the music volume back up. It was a perfect day to get into a convertible so she put her sunglasses back on and lent back in her seat with her hands still safely stuck on the steering wheel. The sun cast warm and welcoming rays in her face.

Sunshine was kind of a rarity up north and she smiled to herself seeing the welcome sign in front of her.

"It's so nice to meet you, Oregon" She quipped happily, "Bet we're going to have major fun together. I see you put your good looks on" She basked in the northwestern sun, "you did all this for me? Aww. Mind if I speed up a bit?" She pushed down on the gas pedal so the speedometer gave in to the right. She raced down the roads in her silvery Porsche.

She felt utterly…good. All of a sudden there was a tingling spark in her heart. She was so hopeful and happy, despite the fact that she was alone, somewhere south in southern Oregon, her fiancé, her best friend and her fucked up ex-job miles away from her.

This was a new beginning. A new, interesting chapter in her life. And sort of a challenge as well. For the very first time, she would have to live by herself. Ever since moving out from home, she'd lived with Naomi until she was kicked out by privacy seeking Sam. So she went to look at a few apartments and then she fell head over heels in love with the competing buyer, who happened to be no other than Noah Barnes. They bought the place together and moved in straight.

This was new. Richard had, thanks to a contact of his, found her a small but very new apartment in downtown Seattle, close to the hospital, the public market and a mandatory round-the-clock open coffee shop.

This could be good, she concluded while going down the streets of central Medford, in search of a good-enough sandwich place.

She smiled at a brown haired soccer boy and his slightly younger doll face sister as she parked her car. He gave her car an awestruck look.

"Hi" He flashed a white smile, "I like your car"

"And I like your hair!" His blonde sister skipped next to him.

"Thank you!" She offered the delightful duo a fond smile as she locked up the convertible. "So, you guys know any good sandwich pizza places around here? I've been on the road from quite some time and I'm starving"

"Yeah" A foxy smile lingered on the boy's lips.

"Wanna spill?"

"Tell you what" Like an expert, he juggled the ball on his feet, "we spill, you buy us some froyo."

"Cheeky!" She riposted before giving in to the charismatic boy's wish, "but yeah, that's a deal."

"I like the Buttercloud!" The little girl joined in "Let's go there!"

"You lead the way then" Addison told the little fair-head girl. She turned to her curiously.

"What's your name?"

"Hello" The read-head held out her hand, "nice to meet you, I'm Addison"

She shook it fearlessly. "That sounds a lot like my name! My name is Madison!"

"Oh, really? That's a great name you got there"

"And I'm Miles" Her brother added in, "she's my sister. Where do you live?"

"Funny you should ask" Addison said as the three entered the café doors, "I'm actually on my way to Seattle. I'm going to live there for a while"

"Seattle is nice. Addison, do you like coffee?" She gave the boy an excessively enthusiastic nod. "-Seattle has Starbucks. But it's really rainy there" His face fell a little, "and cold."

"And Oregon's not? Except for today. Today's lovely"

"It's not that bad" He shrugged, "what you're gonna be up to in Seattle?"

"Oh, I have work there" She answered while placing an order, "I'm excited"

"What do you do?"

"I'm a doctor" She decided to leave the bloody-uterus-surgery details out.

"So you're smart _and_ pretty" He supposed, a grin painting his face.

Addison spilled an incredulous laugh. "Aren't you a little too young to get flirty around old women like me?"

"I don't think you're old. I was thinking twenty…" He eyed her up close, "…three…"

"You're so my favorite person" A proud smirk appeared on her face. These kids were adorable! She had to roll her eyes at Noah's ignorant warning, according to him the northwesteners were hostile, misanthropic and judgmental people who had a tendency to hate everyone from everywhere else, and southern Californians in particular. The only judgmental person here was him. He never bothered to take a two hour drive outside his precious LA, or New York, and only occasionally and very reluctantly, he would join her when she would visit her father in Connecticut.

"Here you go" The girl behind the counter was all smiles as she handed her the food. Her freckled face was literally beaming with friendliness. "Enjoy!"

So much for hostile and mean…

* * *

"Noah, it's me" Addison stressed on the phone, reaching his voicemail, "call me when you get this. Both front lights are out. Do you keep an extra set in here or…" She searched the glove compartment, only to find an information booklet, a broken wiper, an expired hospital keycard and a YSL lipstick in a hideous goth-plum color. She couldn't believe she'd ever bought such an ugly shade.

"You know what" She snapped the lock shut, "just passed a gas station. I'll go in and ask"

She pulled up in the parking area. It wasn't crowded. Although she was already in Seattle she wouldn't risk driving the short distance to the Webber's house with both lights out.

"Hey" She entered loudly, escaping the unwelcoming rain. The weather had managed to change drastically ever since exiting Oregon. She turned to a scrawny looking college boy behind the counter, ignoring the raven haired man before her in line.

"Could you please help me? I'm driving my fiancé's car and both front lights are out. And I can't get the old ones out…" She ran a hopeless hand through her hair, "I tried to call him but he doesn't answer…"

"Sure" The young guy popped a piece of gum in his mouth, "what type of car you got?"

"…Or maybe" The raven hair owner turned to her, "you could get back in line and wait your turn" She jumped a little seeing his significant blue gaze. He was clearly annoyed with her but annoyance didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but this is kind of an emergency" She excused herself half-heartedly, "I've been on the road for two days. I'm exhausted. And I have a dinner to get to in half an hour"

"You think you're the only one?" He challenged, dead-panned, "I've been on call for thirty eight hours. I'm starving and I'm probably going to fall asleep just when I reach the parking lot."

"They don't keep a cafeteria at your work?" She almost snapped at him.

"Haven't had the chance to"

Taking him in for a closer look she noticed that he had that classic, sleep-deprived look on his face that was pretty much a characteristic to surgeons who'd just completed another inhumane shift. But he didn't look like much of a surgeon, he was too handsome. Extremely tired, yes, but a lot pretty as well.

"What type of car?" The boy claimed her attention, standing beside a line of assorted electric car devices.

"Uhm, Porsche Boxster" She hurried to his side, "it's fairly new, he bought it a few months ago…"

"This" He held up two small packages "is exactly what your Porsche needs."

Great!" She beamed, for a second, before her face fell, "how do I…get in…there, exactly?"

"I'll help you" He led the way, "come with me"

"Seriously? You're helping her before me? I was just about to order! I need my food! I can't focus without my food"

"Unspoken rule" The station worker grinned at the hissy man, "gorgeous redheads before all"

"I'm sorry but I can't handle whiny, cocky beings right now" Addison replied, "good thing you don't save lives for a living. If you're this jittery every time you don't earn a lot of sleep, or food for that matter, you would've killed off a lot of people."

The man suppressed an amused snort. "Funny you mention. I do, in fact, save lives for a living."

"Yeah right" He had to be lying. This guy, never in a million years a surgeon.

"You don't believe me? Wanna see my ID? Got it right here…"

"Quit talking, angry old man" She gave him a last glare, "you're giving me a migraine."

"Drive safe" He called after her as she followed the handy guy, irony painting his sour voice, "or you might risk ending up at my table"

"Oh, believe me" She called back optimistically, "you and I won't ever meet again"

* * *

"No, Liz, it's not that I'm not happy for you" Derek led his SUV down the trafficked Seattle road, going east in order to reach Seattle Grace, while being on the phone with his chatty, and slightly bothersome sister. He loved her to pieces, he truly did, but it was just too early in the morning for him to interpret her romantic life into normal conversation. He tried to follow her points while keeping a constant eye on the road ahead of him.

"…I support you, I do, but it's just that I always liked Tom. He seemed like the right type of guy for you…huh…mhm…what…-you what?! Your PT?! He's not even thirty?!"

Shocked by her sister's latest escapade, he was able to maneuver his car around the corner, oblivious of the silvery vehicle coming from the opposite lane. The driver made a hazardous U-turn on the middle of the road, right ahead of him, making Derek drop his phone as he braked hard, startled by the unpredicted and very illegal move.

"Oh God!" He panted while recovering from the road shock. He could hear his sister call out his name through the phone at the floor.

"_Derek? Derek!_" She called out anxiously, _"Are you okay?"_

"I was almost hit by an idiotic driver who thought it was a particularly good idea to change lanes right ahead of me. During rush hour! What is wrong with certain people! Stupid sixteen year-olds shouldn't be allowed on these roads…"

"_Glad you're okay"_ Elizabeth replied candidly, _"what makes you think it's a sixteen year old?"_

"I don't know" He was finally able to get his breathing back to even. He peered at the silver Porsche and the Cali registration plate. "I'm going to report this. This kind of attitude is horrifying! He could have killed me! On my way to work"

"_What makes you think it's a he?"_ She chuckled, _"Derek, calm down a little. I'm sure the person didn't mean to do any harm to traffic. Maybe he, or she, is running late for work"_

"So am I" He protested, "I would never put other people's lives at risk because of it. Hey, can we talk more tomorrow?"

"_Fine. Have a good day at work"_

"You too. Give the kids a kiss from me"

He pulled up the road to Sand Point Way, leading him towards Seattle Grace and the public parking lot. He took to the left to get to the physicians area and his very own reserved spot. He blinked twice, seeing that someone had already taken up his spot.

Wasn't it…_that_ car?

It sure hell was! It was the exact same car that had almost crashed into his on his way to work!

He got out and knocked on the Porsche window angrily. A second later the door opened and a pair of endless legs climbed out of it.

No way. No **FREAKING **way.

"Oh, shit…" The redhead muttered under her breath. The man from last night, at the gas station, the man she was sure to never meet again…

"You!" Inimical words fell from his mouth. "What the hell is wrong with you?! You could've killed me, and others, this morning, thanks to your reckless acts! Where'd you earn your license, Mexico?"

"Oh, was that you?" Collecting her personals, it dawned on her. "I didn't know"

"That's all you have to say?!"

"I'm sorry. I'm not from here and I happened to be in the wrong lane. So I made a turn. I didn't endanger anyone's life, I'm a pretty solid driver and I know what I'm doing. If you'll excuse me…" She shut the door and locked it up, "I'm running out of time…"

"You had me waiting forty minutes for my baked sausage last night!" He went to accuse her, blocking her way. "And you're in my parking spot!"

"Your parking spot?" She raised a perfectly done eyebrow, "you know this is a public hospital right?"

"-and I happen to work here" Derek crossed his arms decisively, nodding at her Porsche. "Move your car"

"You work here?"

"I'm chief of neurosurgery, you don't want to mess with me"

Addison let out a ridiculing giggle. "Yeah right. And I'm a chicken"

"Move. Your. Car"

"You can forget about it" She said after a second of hesitation. She threw her bag across her shoulder as she took self-confident steps towards the entrance doors. Her fine hips moved under the skintight fabric of her pants.

"Hey. Hey!" Derek caught up with the headstrong redhead. He was able to squeeze in before the elevator doors shut close.

"You owe me a hell of an apology. I should report you"

"I'm really sorry" Her serious face broke into a hot grin, "-Doctor…Liar,liar, pants on fire. So what are you doing here anyway? You're a patient? Are you sick? Dying?"

"I told you, I am a neurosurgeon!" He had a hard time convincing the snotty stranger. "What are _you _doing here?"

"I'm meeting with Doctor Webber."

"Why?"

"None of your business" She exited the elevator in a careless manner but couldn't help throwing him a second look when he walked out onto her floor.

"This is the surgical floor…"

"_My_ floor."

"Addison!" A very familiar face approached the two. Richard hugged her close. "I'm happy to see you up this early, seeing all the wine that went down our throats last night. Did you make it home okay?"

"I did" She returned his embrace, "Dinner was lovely, I'm still not hungry yet. Oh, don't talk about wine. I think I'm still drunk" She joked, "Tell me you have some decent caffeine going on."

"Not only is she reckless in traffic" Derek was standing inches away from them, "she's driving around in a drunken state as well. You'd look good behind bars."

"I see you've met my neurosurgery head, Doctor Derek Shepherd. Shep, I want to introduce you to Doctor Addison Montgomery from Cedars Sinai, she will cover for Whitley at neonatal during her leave."

All color drained from Addison's already pale face once reality bumped the two.

"Please tell me you're joking"

Derek Shepherd looked like the doomed man.

"You have got to be kidding me"

* * *

**Don't forget to review, you prettey, prettey people :) **

**Next chapter coming up soon!**


	3. Crash Into Me

**Hi again!**

**I'm so sorry I disappeared for a while. It wasn't my intention to but plane delays, family, food and knitting took up a lot of time during the Christmas days. I hope you all have had wonderful holidays so far, can't believe we're at the end of -13 already!**

**I am so grateful for you guys, thank you for always leaving your truthful comments, for following, faving and for showing so much interest with my stories. I just checked my visitor stats and I'm thrilled to see such high numbers.**

**Now, chapter three is up and ready. Derek is whinier than ever and there's a new doc on the block. Addison's new boss comes off as rigid and cold to anyone outside the walls of neonatal.**

**I hope you enjoy! Will do my very best to have another update here by the next week.**

* * *

"She could have killed me!" A million thoughts raged his mind. Her. The rude and reckless driver. Working here. Neonatal was located on the same floor and she would be walking the surgical hallways when scrubbing in on a surgery, making it very likely for him to run into her on, if not on a daily, then at least a weekly basis.

He sent Richard a disapproving look. To his surprise, and his dismay, he brought an arm around the gloating redhead. He didn't pay any attention to his worries at all, did he?!

"What?"

"I had to brake like crazy! She created a mess in traffic thanks to her recklessness!"

"No, I don't believe that" He seemed too lost in his precious resident, "Addie is a solid driver"

"I was in the wrong lane, going opposite" Addison answered humbly, "My GPS is broken and I didn't have a lot of time…"

"-And she's in my parking spot!" Derek went on accusing her. He was lacking patience, acceptance and most importantly, caffeine. He was in no mood to sit down and talk things through the civilized way. Instead, he was standing by the reception counter yelling at his boss and his little charity case, attracting the curious faces of nurses and interns.

"…My own private spot! Tell her to move her car!"

"Oh, I failed to mention!" Richard told her lightheartedly, "Doctor Whitley has offered you to park in her spot while you cover for her. If you go east by the VIP area you should find it in no time-"

"She gets to park in Whitley's spot?!" Derek almost bellowed, "Whitley is a senior resident!"

"And so is Doctor Montgomery"

"How can she possibly be?" Derek eyed the ID card that was handed to her by Richard, bitterly, "she looks like a…twenty-three year old!"

"I'm sure you didn't mean it that way" She clipped it onto her chest pocket, "but I'm taking it as a compliment." A very confident smile appeared on her face, "you're not the first one telling me that."

"Move your car!"

"And what if I don't?"

"Shepherd, quit the drama" Richard did his best to gain control of the very vocal, bickering duo, "Addie, go move your car."

"Fine" In a sec, she'd obeyed to the chief's request. He knew Richard was the ultimate chief but anger rose inside Derek. She had no respect for him, the neurosurgery head, and in a heartbeat she would answer to their mentor? Did she seriously believe she could treat her new boss, the callous head of neonatal, the same ridiculing way? If so, she would be fired before she even got the chance to get her teeth into her sandwich at lunch break.

Once she was gone behind the closing elevator doors, he turned to Richard tiredly.

"Did Goldenblatt have a say in this?"

"Huh?"

"Does your head of neonatal know that you're throwing her some drunk-driving crazy person to tend for her unit?"

"Do not talk about her like that" He retorted, "of course. Goldenblatt and I discussed this through and through and we came to an agreement. You know, she's a former student of the legendary Vivian Carlsmith, and so is Montgomery. She's the one who opted her as chief resident. They had me mull it over, and I agreed."

WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?

"Excuse me?!"

"Addison Montgomery. Chief Resident. We're going to make it official by the end of this week"

"Chief resident belongs to Callie!"

"Callie was a good candidate" He thought it over for a second before concluding, "but no. Her field is just not compatible with the job. Beside the OR hours, ER duty is going to cost her fifty hours more a month if she's going to be able to pass her sub-specialty by January. It would be all too much."

"She's very well prepared for it!"

"She doesn't know how to delegate. And she tends to shun away from everything admin. And managerial matters always come with the job. Montgomery was interim chief res while the old went on a leave, she knows the drill. And Cedars is three times greater than our hospital. And she wasn't put off by that so I'm sure she's going to do an excellent job here."

"Callie has worked so hard for this!"

"Life isn't always fair, Derek" Richard shrugged it off. There was a careless tone to his voice that made fury well up inside the neurosurgeon's chest.

"You can't possibly do this. You promised her!"

"I never promised her a thing" He said truthfully, "She knew she was put up for consideration and that's it. I never promised her, or favored her above the others."

"Chief. You can't do this"

"Derek, I've made up my mind. Why is this so important to you, all of a sudden? Chief resident doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Callie is a close friend of mine! She's a major resource in this hospital!"

"And I appreciate that, but please don't bring your personal life into a strictly professional matter."

"Why her?" Derek stalked him through the hallways, the catwalk and into his office, "why this woman, Montgomery? Other than she's a former student of yours. Because I expect that's not it."

"She's brilliant" With a smile, Richard tossed his files onto his desk and slipped out of his lab coat. "I have to work now, if you'll excuse me-"

"And how is she brilliant?" Derek pressed, "Tell me. Cause from what I've heard she's a slob. A miserable practitioner who messes up in the OR. What happened really? Back in LA? Was she drunk on duty? High, even? Because I won't sit and silently watch a drug addict walk through these doors…"

"Shepherd, that's enough" He commented warningly.

"Should I call the police right away? You can't tell me she's brilliant and expect me and every attending to rely on that!"

"Get out!"

"Let me know when she's gonna be a danger to the patients so I can call for reinforcements"

By now the chief had had it with the self-important neurosurgeon's arrogant ways so he raged at him from behind his office desk.

"Don't you dare talk about her like that, ever again. Don't you dare!"

"You're trying to make this all about being professional?" Derek just wouldn't let go, "then why the hell are you completely losing it in front of me?"

"Because she's a very dear person to me!"

Derek receded, showing off a bitter nod once having his suspicions borne out.

"So I guess part of being chief _is _personal"

He slammed the door shut as he left.

* * *

"Addison Montgomery" Addison was standing facing she who would be her principal superior for the next eight of months. She had heard only negative things about her way with reckless doctors in training, but apart from that, professional opinions would boil down to the attending brunette being a great surgeon and deep down, a compassionate person despite her very icy attitude.

Standing here, she couldn't help but wonder if this was right. Was this really she? The woman was so petite, not even a glossy pair of Louboutins made her the very tall woman. Her eyes were a matte hazelnut color. Kind eyes.

"Kristin Goldenblatt" She held out a white and almost severely knuckled hand, "I have heard only great things about you"

"Likewise" She shook her dept. head's hand eagerly, "I hear you're a former student of Vivian Carlsmith as well"

"She taught me brilliantly" She set her curious brown eyes in her, "I'm very pleased to have another Yale grad join us at my floor" Studying her features more closely Addison noticed the lack of imperfections on the woman's chinadoll face. She couldn't possibly be forty.

"I'd like to take you for a tour around my floor, starting off in the maternity ward. Right now, if that's a good time with you. Unless you have anything planned with Webber?"

"I don't. And that would be great."

"Wonderful" The scrawny looking brunette led her out her office and down the sterile corridor. Addison followed her mentor's ritzy stiletto steps enthusiastically.

"What do you say we grab a coffee first of all?" Kristin's hand hit the elevator button, "what can I say, I had a rough surgery last night and you look…well, you look slightly hung over…"

"I'm not! I swear, I'm not" She stressed out but relaxed a little the second she saw her boss' teasy face. "Late night at the Webber's house last night. Dinner and lots of white."

"You know, I love white" She hinted brazenly, "I'm just saying. If you ever feel you should make much of your boss. I like to think of myself as a wine snob. A _connoisseur,_ even. As long as you know how to say Sancerre right, everyone thinks you're a pro"

"But you didn't say it right" Addison teased her, "too much accent. And Sancerre is sorely overrated anyways"

"It's not!"

"It is. It's so pedestrian. My fiancé's been to several wine-tasting classes. He's more of a red type though, but he told me this, if you wanna be a real wine snob, don't make it this obvious."

"Noah Barnes said that"? Where did you find that kind of guy? I want one"

Addison sent her a perplexed smile. The Yale alumna and three times board certified surgeon reminded her more of a BFF than anything else at this moment.

"LA. All the great guys are in LA"

"You might be right" Kristin shrugged as they entered the cafeteria, "so how's everyone treating you on your very first day?"

"I haven't met a lot of people yet" Addison searched for her wallet but she was turned down by her politely offering department head. "I met doctor Dixon though. He was in a rush so we didn't talk a lot but he seems nice"

"Oh, yes" She affirmed positively, "you're going to work alongside him a lot. He's our interim head whenever I'm not there"

"I'm looking forward to it" She accepted the cappuccino gratefully, "one thing I love about this place is the casualty to it. Here you can actually wear jeans with your lab coat and get away with it. In LA it just wouldn't be an option." She eyed Goldenblatt's skirted hips joyously, "you're obviously an exception though. You'd fit right in down there. YSL?"

"Bottega Veneta" She winked back at her as she took a sip of her large coffee. "I wasn't always a northwestener. I was born in New Haven and I moved back there when I started med school."

"You're a Connecticutian?" Addison beamed, "So am I!"

"-And I spent every summer in the Hamptons."

"So did I! Can't believe we have Carlsmith _and _the east coast in common. That's great!"

"And now we're here" She quipped, "what happened to us?"

"What can I say, it's nice to get a break from arrogant" She said, relieved to explore a more laidback and slightly less competitive workplace. Suddenly, the face of the cocky neurosurgeon came to her mind again. Addison grimaced bitterly.

"You know what, I might have to take back my words. I ran into the cockiest neurosurgeon I've ever met. And it turns out he works here. And now he hates me because I accidentally snuck past him in line at this gas station…"

"What's his name?" Kristin's head snapped back up, "We have a few"

"Dunno. But he's got nauseously great hair and really bright blue eyes"

"Shepherd" She nodded certainly. Addison watched in shock as a deep rosy color painted the OB-GYN's porcelain cheeks.

"What are you-" Addison cut herself off, "Oh my God, are you blushing? You're blushing at the thought of Mister-My-Ego-And-My-Pride-Is-Larger-Than-The-State-Of-Texas?!"

"I'm not!" The attending protested as she straightened out her skirt. "I don't blush. I'm a professional. I'm a disciplined, successful surgeon. People like me don't blush"

"Mhm" Addison raised a suspicious eyebrow, "don't tell me you have a secret crush on him. I'd be so disappointed in you. And so would Carlsmith."

"Hey" She poked her with a gorgeously manicured fingernail, "I am your boss, not the other way around. And Derek Shepherd is not the one I'm attracted to. We dated briefly, for a few weeks. But I am so over him. The guy is so messed up."

"Not the one? So there's a one" The redhead beamed back at her, "tell me about it"

"You cannot tell anyone" Her hazel gaze grew serious, "it's super embarrassing, he's a first year"

"Adventurous" Addison burst into a fit of giggles, "who is he?"

"I'm not gonna tell your right here" She eyed the particularly crowded cafeteria skeptically. She pulled a giggly Addison by the arm as they exited, trying her best to hide her passionate smile, and, completely ignorant to the fact that a certain neurosurgeon and his friends were watching them.

* * *

"Callie's not getting chief resident" Sydney proclaimed meekly as she sat down next to Derek and Mark at their table during lunch. Derek brought a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"I know…"

What do we tell her?" She nibbled on her pasta salad apprehensively.

"We don't tell her anything. We leave it to Richard to tell her. He made the decision, we let him face the consequences."

"She's gonna be heartbroken…" She swallowed with some difficulty, "I heard the new one's onboard already. Have you met her?"

Mark tried his best to silence his ridiculing chuckle, earning a curious look from her. "What?"

"'Have I met her?'" Derek quoted indignantly, "it'd be fair to ask me if I've been run down and killed by her."

Sydney's unknowing look grew stronger.

"Girl knows how to make an entrance" Mark quipped, digging his teeth into a blueberry muffin, "she almost crashed into Derek this morning." He explained to her, "and she stole his parking spot"

"What? Crashed into…?...?!" She put her hand on his biceps worriedly, "are you okay?"

"It's a miracle I'm still alive" He sulked.

"I'm sure she didn't mean to kill you" Sydney replied casually, "you should give her another chance"

"I will not!"

"It's not like we let Callie down by accepting Doctor Montgomery's arrival" She pointed out reasonably, "She's our co-worker like everyone else around here."

"She's not like everyone else around here. She's obsessive and mean. Stuck-up and self-important. If she'd been only this humble" He held up two fingers, as to illustrate, "I would be happy to forgive and forget. But this woman has no respect whatsoever, for any superior who's not Richard. If she think, even for a second, that Goldenblatt is going to accept her ways-"

"Relax, man" About to send a text off to Daisy, Mark assured his best friend, "Goldenblatt is going to give her hell. Heck, she even gives me hell and I'm the plastics dept. head."

"You're also an unpredictable, sexually harassing jerk" Derek reminded him, "that's why she doesn't like you."

"I _was. _An unpredictable, sexually harassing jerk_" _He pointed out proudly, "A man can change."

Derek shrugged at his latest announcement. "I hope you're right. Hopefully Goldie won't ever let her off the hook. Of course she won't. That woman doesn't like anyone. Especially not residents. Only person she can stand around here is me" He explained with a self-assured chuckle, "she has a thing for my sea blue eyes."

"Doesn't look like it" Slightly absent, Sydney had her eyes locked on someone opposite their table. "Isn't that…Doctor Montgomery? With…Doctor Goldenblatt?"

"That is certainly _her_" Derek felt his jaw tense once spotting the mischievous redhead. His eyes wandered to the woman by her side, his former and short-lived fling, the icy but beautiful OB-GYN director of Seattle Grace.

The threesome couldn't take their eyes off the provoking sight in front of them.

"Looks like Montgomery is making her giggle" Sydney turned to Derek, "why is she making her giggle?"

"Are they BFF's or what?" Mark quipped, "She's blushing now. Kristin Goldenblatt's blushing for the very first time"

"Oh my God…" Derek croaked his words out. Why the hell was she standing next to Miss-My-Ego-Is-So-Big-I-Believe-I-Can-Crash-Into-Everyone-LA-Style-And-Turn-Everything-Upside-Down, giggling at her?

Sydney tore a piece of Mark's muffin as she kept staring ahead, like she was mesmerized by a movie.

"And now she's touching her arm…"

Derek got up in such a hurry he almost knocked their coffees over.

"This is revenge from her part" He assumed egocentrically, "she's bitter and angry at me for ditching her for Sydney. So she's hitting it off with the person I dislike the most in this place in order to annoy me"

"Derek, come on" Mark did not support his crazy theory, "They just met. How can she possibly know about it?"

"She can't do this. She can't swoon over this horrible, horrible person like a love struck fourteen year old and go on and disapprove of everyone else. She's supposed to be hostile, distanced and strictly professional. Clearly Goldenblatt's got brain damage" The neurosurgeon thought out loud, "I'm going to confront her."

Determined, he crushed his empty paper cup in his fist and threw it in the trashcan as he went, leaving his friend and his "girlfriend" behind.

* * *

Kristin Goldenblatt eyed the smug grin on Derek Shepherd's face suspiciously as he jumped out right in front of her, apparently from nowhere, on her way to the maternity ward.

"Morning Goldie" He greeted her nonchalantly. With a smile, he showed a large sized cappuccino into her hands.

"What's this?"

"Cappuccino, semi-skimmed, extra-hot, I told them to add in extra cinnamon sprinkles on top, just the way you like it."

She kept eyeing the coffee, slightly distressed.

"It's caffeine. Coffee. Okay, not coffee. It's a coffee_drink._ A fairly standard Italian coffeedrink" He chuckled, "it won't hurt you, promise."

The skinny brunette took it from him hesitantly. "What do you want Shepherd? And stop calling me Goldie!"

"What makes you think I want something?" He shadowed her small frame down the hallways and into her office.

"Right" She paused and turned around abruptly so that he almost crashed against her chest.

"Oh. Wow. Woah. Sorry"

"You just woke up and spontaneously decided that today was a good day to drop by my floor? What's the occasion? You're pregnant? Sick? Need a pap smear? Because I know by now that you don't come to seek me out unless your life's at stake. You avoided me for weeks, remember? Didn't return any of my phone calls…"

"I met Sydney…"

"And you could have not acted like a toddler and called us a day to my face. Would've made it a lot easier for both of us."

"I didn't want to hurt you…"

"Oh, please. You're not God's gift to every woman out there. I'm perfectly capable to handle a rejection. If you and Mary freaking Poppins are hitting it off, well I'm happy for you."

"About that…" Comfortably, he dropped down on his co-workers plush chaise longue. He brought a hand to his aching temple.

"She's great. Funny and smart. Lovely. Really lovely. But it feels like something's missing…I'm not head over heels in love with her even though I should."

"Seriously?!" She threw him a riled look, "I am not your spiritual adviser, or adviser of any kind! And get your sweaty ass off my new white couch."

A little involuntarily and with a groan, he got back up. "What do I do? You think I should break up with her? While we're still at an early stage?"

"Shepherd, I don't care" She waved him off while seating herself behind her desk. She arranged a bunch of papers as she stuck the charger into her laptop.

"You're right, I shouldn't break up with her. We're not hormonal fourteen year-olds any more. We need to give each other time. And then passion is going to show up eventually…Right?" He went on, self-advising.

"Shepherd!" She whined, "I'm working. So if you came here for nothing I suggest you leave…"

"Oh, reminds me" It dawned on him. He leant against her desk, setting a pair of interrogative eyes in her. "Heard about your new resident. I wanted to congratulate you."

"Yeah, Montgomery" A small smile excited her face, "thank you."

"How is she?"

"Very good. She's got a great resume. You know, we both studied under Doctor Carlsmith? Such a fun coincidence."

"And if you'd looked past her academic achievements you'd come to realize that she's not a very good practitioner. Did you know she almost crashed into me on the roads this morning? She could have killed me."

"And how is that relevant to the job?" She put her glasses on, not bothering to offer him a second look.

"And not to mention the horrific mistake back in LA. What happened there? Was she drunk?"

"I'm pretty sure that doesn't concern you" She replied icily, "Please leave now."

"Did Richard ever tell you?"

"Of course he did" Her gaze softened some, "Derek, it was a mistake. People make mistakes"

"Two preterm babies died in the operating room"

"Two extremely preterm babies, one born with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia" She rectified, "get your facts straight before you go and judge a doctor whose specialty don't have anything to do with yours."

"Since when do you have mercy on anyone?" He was getting angrier, "you never give people a second chance! And this…self-appointed champ walks in and you go head over heels about her? What the hell happened to you!"

She almost slammed her fragile glasses against her desk top. "I'm sorry, Doctor Shepherd, if I'm no mommy to your aristocratic group of unexceptional neuro boys who expect praise and applause by holding onto a stethoscope and hardly doing anything else. Yes, your heard me right, what I'm saying is that I couldn't care less about your people. But Doctor Montgomery is from this day on, one of mine. And my job is to teach, inspire and to push _my_ people to the breaking point. Call her rude and stuck-up, you can hate her as much as you want, but don't you ever demean one of my residents again. Each and single one of them are brilliant professionals who deserve their spot in the program"

"Professionals" Derek snorted, amused and annoyed by her choice of words.

"You didn't look very professional down in the cafeteria this morning" He commented bluntly, "you two interact like prepubescent nutcases."

"Out!" She bellowed at him, naïve to the fact that she wasn't the first to kick neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd out her office this day.

"You become more and more like him every day" He hovered at her door, his face rid of emotions, "Webber. And it's not a compliment."

"Oh, I dare say thank you anyways." She threw at him one last line before he slammed the door shut.

* * *

**About the new names. Vivian Carlsmith did appear in a PP episode, as Addison's former teacher. She's actually not fictional. Well, she is. But she's Shonda fictional, not fiction-fictional. **

**And Kristin Goldenblatt… If you watch Sex and the City you'll know for sure where I picked that up! I was looking for a super snotty name and C.G. was obviously taken, so I took Goldenblatt from Charlotte and Kristin from Davis. Snotty for sure, isn't it? :P No offense if your name is either Kristin or Goldenblatt. Hopefully your name's not Kristin AND Goldenblatt. They're both really good names though. Apart :P**

**So yeah, Addie is hitting it off with her boss. Unprofessional? Probably. But I want her to befriend someone who's regarded an authority besides Richard, and therefore pissing Derek more off :D Because pissed off Derek is funny. And HOT.**

**In the next chapter Addison and Callie will face each other for the very first time. I'm going to name it "I love a Catfight". Title says it all doesn't it…**

**I hope you enjoyed this year's last chapter! See you in January! ;)**

**I wish you all a wonderful new years eve. Be happy, love each other, and go easy on the cocktails! **

**Let's make 2014 the year of our lives! **

**Much love,**

****''*''*''*M*'*''*''*'' - - (These are supposed to be fireworks, btw...Ha-ha…)**


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